AMD Brazos 2.0 E-Series APUs launched

A few weeks after the launch of Trinity, AMD took advantage at Computex to showcase Brazos 2.0 E-Series APUs, the second generation of processors from competitors Intel's Atom.

Two main references are announced. The first, called E2-1800, that combines two Bobcat cores clocked at 1.7 GHz, and a GPU called HD 7340, equipped with 80 stream processors and capable of operating from 523 to 680 MHz. All accept the DDR3 up to 1333 MHz and is seen associated with a TDP (Thermal Design Power) of 18W. The second, called E1-1200, that has two core clocked at 1.4 GHz, while the GPU runs at 500 MHz, under the name HD 7310.

The E2-1800 is indeed an E-350 that would have won a few tens of MHz in the CPU (from 1.65 to 1.7 GHz) and GPU (508 to 600 MHz against 523 to 680 MHz). Despite its name change, the graphics - also supports DirectX 11 and OpenCL 1.1 - that do not just win a generation.

However, the Brazos 2.0 will still have some opportunity to introduce some new features, since the chipset that accompanies it inherits some of the features incorporated by AMD Trinity platform with native support for USB 3.0 (two ports) and SATA III chipset to pass through Hudson-3L. Native management of a memory card reader is also emerging.

AMD finally discusses two new software functions associated with hardware acceleration, which according to documentation that was provided, should be reserved for E2-1800, when nothing seems technically to prevent its use on other models. The first, called Steady Video, which acts as an image stabilizer when playing a video, while the second is called, Quick Stream, which is on the QoS of the network connection to improve streaming.

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Rather than dwelling on the technical aspects, actually rather disappointing, AMD chose to focus on the uses, citing for example the performance of its graphics, and its ability to support the CPU for tasks such as hardware acceleration of video, web content, etc. With a range that could reach 11 hours (the idle power consumption is particularly better controlled) and increased performance over previous series, Brazos 2.0 E must therefore, according to AMD, establish itself as a platform of choice for machines displayed for atleast $499.

Because of this balance between CPU and GPU, which effectively turns the advantage of the graphics on AMD (without being able to pretend to compete with a dedicated GPU or run recent games in decent conditions), the E2-1800 and E1-1200 may have a role to play, especially at their price for a highly competitive position. Twenty frames are also being prepared by the notebook manufacturers such as Asus, Sony, Toshiba or HP. According to AMD, more than 30 million first generation Brazos have already been sold worldwide.